Cream of Asparagus and Mushroom Soup

"I was on a work trip in Oklahoma City several years ago and had a delicious bowl of cream of asparagus soup at a cute cafe, and I spent a year trying to recreate my own version of this heart-warming soup. With the collaboration of my family's ideas, I have come up with a version of soup that I serve for our formal holiday meals as a starter course."

Directions

Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate. Crumble bacon when cool; set aside. Reserve 1 tablespoon of bacon drippings.

Melt butter with drippings in a saucepan over medium heat.

Cook and stir celery and onion in the saucepan until onion is translucent, about 4 minutes.

Whisk flour into the mixture and cook for 1 minute.

Whisk in chicken broth and bring to a boil.

Add potato and chopped asparagus stalks, reserving the asparagus tips for later. Season with salt and ground black pepper.

Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Pour the soup into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour into a clean pot. Alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the soup right in the cooking pot.

Cook and stir mushrooms and asparagus tips in the same skillet used for bacon until mushrooms give up their liquid, 5 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and ground black pepper, if needed.

Most Helpful Positive Review

Apr 22, 2012

OH MAN! This is a great soup. Made a little healthier version - used veggie broth, omitted the bacon, and used skim milk. I over-salted the soup and remembered a trick my grandma told me once. Peel and cut in half a potato, add to the soup, cook until the potato is soft, remove potato. It pulled just the perfect amount of salt out of the soup. PERFECT! Thanks for the great recipe.

This is a great soup. I fought the inclination to put some garlic in with the cooking onions and the celery, but it didn't need it. The bacon bits I used were from one of those "real bacon bits" bags so I could use the actual bacon I cooked in my microwave for BLT sandwiches. This soup is to die for and I cooked it exactly as described by this excellent chef/mother. Thanks for the new soup recipe and I am sure the other readers will be checking this recipe out soon.

This soup is absolutely fabulous. I made it exactly according to the recipe... no need for any changes! You could leave out the half and half and it still is lovely. I ended up adding it in because I hate it when people make a bunch of changes and then criticize the original recipe. It also reheats well the next day.

I gave 4 stars as I had to add some flavor - a little extra sea salt, fresh ground pepper and a couple dashes of cayenne really brought out the flavors. I used leftover steamed asparagus (added later in the process) and kept aside the tips (also added later to the mushrooms). I sliced the mushrooms super thin on a mandoline, used fat free 1/2 &1/2, and bumped up the flavor of the chicken broth with a little chicken broth paste (awesome stuff). yummy recipe!!

I made this recipe exactly as described. It is absolutely delicious!! My son, who does not like asparaus at all actually loved it! My boyfriend loved it and asked me to make a ton...lol! Great recipe!!! Thanks!

This is awesome! I used portabello mushrooms and added more than it called for as well as more asparagus. I did not have half and half and used skim milk, it tasted great! The bacon gives it that savory, delicious taste it needs. Thank you for such a yummy soup for a cold day!

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

**Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.

(-)Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.